A court was told yesterday that Josette Bickle, who is standing trial for dealing in heroin in prison (Female Ward ‘A’) between 2006 and 2008, treated fellow inmates like slaves and had so much power that she would just call then prison director Sandro Gatt and would get whatever she wanted.

Two police inspectors and two former inmates testified yesterday, saying that Ms Bickle, 42, of Valletta, sold heroin for more than three times the normal price. She had a lot of power at the Corradino Correctional Facility, practically led the women’s section herself and the prison warders were afraid of her.

The court was told that Ms Bickle would get paid for the drugs in cash or in kind; she would ask fellow inmates to help her get washed, wash the floor, wash and iron clothes and prepare meals. She was the one who used to delegate Playmobil work to fellow inmates and used to keep practically all the money herself.

One of the former inmates, Maria Concetta Borg, told the court: “She was the queen, because she had heroin, which she supplied to me and other inmates. I would like these things to end, because you’re meant to go to prison to recover.”

She recalled that then prison director Sandro Gatt had once called her a dirty Gozitan and said her visits, as well as those of other inmates, were once suspended for no reason whatsoever.

Asked under cross-examination whether her mother or anyone else ever brought her any drugs while she was in prison, she said: “My mother? My mother is 80 years old; she was subjected to strip searches and she used to feel so embarrassed. She used to tell me she wouldn’t even undress in front of my father.”

She said the price of the heroin supplied by Ms Bickle varied; she said there was a time when she paid €300 for one gram and paid for it slowly.

Police inspectors Jesmond Borg and Victor Aquilina told the court that an inquiry had been carried out at the Corradino Correctional Facility and they were assigned to investigate drug trafficking allegations.

Saying that the police had spoken to four inmates – Maria Concetta Borg, Pauline Pisani, Elaine Muscat and Doreen Bugeja – police inspector Jesmond Borg said they didn’t want to say anything at first because they were scared of Josette Bickle. She used to sell a €23-packet of heroin for €100.

The inspector said he had asked Elaine Muscat why she was so scared of Ms Bickle, and her reply was that one of the reasons was that the defendant was not afraid of anyone, so much so that she once even tried assaulting the prison director.

The inspector went on to say that when she was about to leave the CCF, Ms Bickle had emptied four lockers and a prison cell (the second one in addition to the one she slept in) that she used as storage space for the items she received from fellow inmates in exchange for the drugs she supplied. Among other things, she had four television sets, two DVD sets, a surround system and a number of mobile phones.

Under cross-examination, the inspector said he had not verified this with the CCF authorities as his work was limited to the drug trafficking investigation.

He noted that she had refused to answer any questions during her interrogation and recalled that Ms Bickle had issued various cheques to people outside prison, including a certain Jeffrey and a boyfriend.

Former inmate Pauline Pisani, who also testified yesterday, said that she knew Ms Bickle before she went to prison and even lived with her for a while. She recalled that she owed the defendant about Lm85 (€198) for a mobile phone and for some drugs, and when they met in prison, Ms Bickle told her that that amount had now gone up to Lm300 (€699).

“She used to give me heroin in prison and she used to treat me like a slave. A prince’s slave would have been better off than me. I used to work on the Playmobil toys till 4am,” she said, adding that the defendant would make her shave her private parts, clean her cell, brush her hair and make her coffee. She even used to threaten her and once burned her arm with a light bulb.

Ms Pisani said people visiting Ms Bickle would get her the drugs – about two to five grams every time – and she had more extended visits than the rest of the inmates. While they normally had two extended visits a month, she would call then prison director Sandro Gatt and would get what she wanted right away, said Ms Pisani.

She said it was almost easier to get drugs from prison than from outside due to a “door-to-door” system, but Ms Pisani said there was a point when she had decided she wanted to kick the drug habit and had managed to go to Mount Carmel. On her return to the CCF, she wanted to be taken to Female Ward ‘B’ (which the police inspectors said was meant to be free from drugs) to try staying away from drugs and from Ms Bickle, who tried assaulting her when she got to know.

A prison warder by the name Ms Alison had told her she would have to pay Ms Bickle half the payment she received for the Playmobil work she used to do in prison, and then prison director Sandro Gatt had told her she had to see how she was going to pay the debt she had with Ms Bickle.

Ms Pisani said Ms Bickle used to delegate the Playmobil work to the other prison inmates and she was the one who used to give a report of the amount of work done by each inmate.

The court was told that while deposits in Ms Bickle’s account were always high amounts (€500 to €800), other inmates had amounts that were much less.

Ms Pisani used to sniff or smoke with Ms Bickle during the day, and she was given a small amount to use at night, while all the inmates were in their cells.